NEGOTIATING VIOLENCE, TRAUMA, AND MEMORY IN SHASHI DESHPANDES SELECT SHORT STORIES

Violence and trauma form a significant feature of world literature as part of the human condition since times immemorial, though the modes of their presentation have changed from time to time. Violent and distressful scenes in fiction are not only meant to remind the readers of their presence in their lives but also to show how people respond to them in different ways: by succumbing to them or by fighting them. The present paper aims to show how Shashi Deshpande weaves scenes of violence and trauma in the texture of her stories and how their memory not only causes pain and agony to the people who are affected by them but also works as therapy for some. She makes us aware that storytelling has long been used to help individuals process and cope with such challenging circumstances. In stories like Anatomy of Murder, A Liberated Woman, The Inner Rooms, Memorabilia, It was Dark, The Homecoming, and Lost Springs, Deshpande shows how the characters suffer violence, are plagued by traumatic memories, and learn to fight back the perpetrators of violence, and even save the others too.